In some cases the discrepancy is extreme: Panel makers are selling bare 32-inch LCD TV panels for an estimated $223 to manufacturers, but those panels cost between $248 and $256 to build.

Common diagnostics include beep codes (which vary from vendor to vendor) or diagnostic codes that can be written out to a specific raw address.

Chinese manufacturers' marketing approach is tailored to the local market, with the at-times blunt messages about wealth and success that play well here, such as Chery's choice of name, Riich.